There are many car accidents in which multiple collisions happen. When these chain-reaction accidents or pile-ups happen, lawyers often find that multiple people are liable. You may know that multiple parties owe you compensation, but it can be difficult to determine who owes you how much money (and how to seek compensation from each of those parties).
Hiring a car accident lawyer is always worth considering after a car accident. When the collision involves multiple liable parties, the benefits of having a lawyer are magnified. Allow an experienced legal professional to sort out liability, develop a plan for securing the compensation you deserve, and fight for you.
How Liability Works When There Is A Chain Reaction Collision
Let's start with a definition of a multi-car accident. In most cases, traffic accidents involve two vehicles—one strikes another, and often, it's clear which driver is liable for the collision. Multiple-car accidents involve three or more vehicles and can also be known as chain-reaction collisions.
Here's an example in which multiple other motorists (or other parties) can be liable for a multi-car accident involving you:
- You are traveling on the highway when traffic ahead of you comes to a stop
- Because you were maintaining a safe distance, you stopped in time without striking the braked motorist in front of you
- The motorist immediately behind you was texting, and their vehicle slams into the rear-end of your vehicle
- The motorist behind the distracted driver was speeding, and that vehicle strikes the rear-end of the vehicle that struck you, causing you to endure another violent collision
In this example, you will likely deserve compensation from both the motorist who directly rear-ended you and the speeding motorist who caused the second collision in the chain reaction. However, it's not clear which of the two motorists is responsible for which of your damages (and, therefore, how much compensation each motorist owes you).
Lawyers Know How to Diagnose Fault and Liability for Chain-Reaction Collisions
You may realize a few things after your accident:
- You've suffered injuries and other damages
- Multiple other parties contributed to your damages
- You deserve compensation from those parties
Beyond this, most victims of multi-car accidents are at a loss. You deserve an experienced representative who understands liability for multi-car accidents and how to get justice for victims—you need a good lawyer.
Your attorney will immediately take over your case, evaluate the evidence, create a personalized strategy, and pursue the compensation you deserve from all liable parties.
Types of Negligence That Can Lead to a Multi-Vehicle Accident
As your multi-car accident lawyer investigates your collision, they may find that multiple parties' negligence directly caused or failed to prevent your injuries and property damages. Some reasons why multi-car accidents happen include:
- Dangerous driving: Motorists must drive the speed limit, abide by red lights, stop signs, and yield signs, check blind spots, leave a safe distance between their vehicle and others, and refrain from all forms of dangerous driving. Speeding and tailgating are particularly common types of dangerous driving that can cause or contribute to chain-reaction collisions.
- Distracted and impaired driving: These two types of driving are worth mentioning together because a distracted driver can be just as dangerous as a drunk, drugged, or tired motorist. Impaired and distracted motorists cannot process changing road conditions, have slower reaction times, and pose an unacceptable risk to others.
- Defective motor vehicles: Even if a motorist drives cautiously and honors the traffic laws, a defective vehicle can let them down. Failed brakes, blown tires, and other symptoms of vehicle defects can directly cause accidents or prevent the driver from avoiding a collision.
- Unsafe road conditions: Despite billions in funding to improve the safety of roads throughout the country, frequent drivers can tell you that many American roads are unsafe. Potholes, pocked roadways, cracks, poor lighting, and defective traffic signals are some of the hazards contributing to multi-car collisions.
Drivers, municipalities, vehicle manufacturers, and other parties may be responsible for these and other accident hazards. Some accidents may result from a combination of these factors—one motorist may strike another because they were speeding, then another motorist may strike those vehicles because their brakes malfunction.
Your attorney will investigate your accident as a blank slate, allowing the facts and evidence to determine who is liable for your damages.
Shared Liability Can Complicate Your Pursuit of Compensation After a Car Accident
The more vehicles involved in a car accident, the more complicated the resulting claims and lawsuits tend to be. Allow a lawyer to handle all aspects of your case (including the most challenging ones), starting with:
Identifying Everyone Whose Negligence Contributed to the Accident(s)
Your attorney will rely on witness accounts, video footage, and other informative evidence to determine who is at fault for your accident. They may find that multiple parties—perhaps two or more drivers—contributed to your accident.
Determining Who Holds What Share of Fault
To understand what we mean, consider that:
- A motorist rear-ends your vehicle, causing severe impact in which you strike your head on the steering wheel
- A second motorist hits the motorist that rear-ended you, causing a more minor impact
The motorist who hit you first caused a more severe collision, and they may be more at fault for your losses than the motorist who caused the second impact. Your attorney will use time-tested mathematical and legal approaches to determine the share of fault for your damages.
Determining How to Seek Compensation from Each Negligent Party
Once your attorney knows who shares fault for your losses, they will:
- Determine if the at-fault parties have insurance
- Evaluate each at-fault party's insurance policy
- Initiate all appropriate insurance claims
- Determine if it's in your interest to sue any of the at-fault parties (or any other liable parties)
Each at-fault party is distinct, and your lawyer will create a plan for securing compensation from each of the at-fault parties.
Pursuing Compensation from Each Liable Party
Once your lawyer has a plan for securing fair compensation from each liable party, they will execute that plan for you. The plan may include:
- Filing a claim with at-fault parties' insurance providers
- Filing a claim with your own insurance provider
- Suing at-fault parties
Being struck by multiple vehicles not only causes physical injury. These collisions can be particularly traumatic, leaving victims with pain, anxiety, and other lingering symptoms. Make your recovery the priority by allowing a car accident attorney to lead your fight for compensation.
What, Exactly, a Lawyer Does for a Victim of a Multi-Car Collision
Once your lawyer has determined fault and liability for your accident, they will develop your personalized case strategy. Executing this strategy will likely require your attorney to:
Compile Evidence of Liable Parties' Negligence
Your attorney can prove how at-fault parties' negligence caused your accident, and common types of evidence in car accident cases include:
- Eyewitness testimony about how vehicles collided
- Video footage of the collision
- Your testimony about how the accident happened
- A police report, which may contain admissions of wrongdoing from at-fault parties
Car accident lawyers sometimes hire experts to reconstruct collisions. Such reconstructions can be especially beneficial when multiple vehicles collide, as a reconstruction can show exactly how the chain reaction happened.
Secure Proof of Your Accident-Related Losses
Car accident lawyers often prove their clients' losses with medical records, medical bills, invoices for vehicle repairs, testimony from mental health experts, and income statements. Your lawyer will gather all documentation that proves the cost of your multi-car accident.
Make Insurance Simple for You
Motorists purchase insurance and pay for insurance. Yet, many motorists remain perplexed by the details of auto insurance policies (and claims).
Lawyers understand insurance, and they understand insurance companies. Your lawyer will explain every aspect of the insurance process in a way you can understand. Your legal team will also:
- Protect you from insurance companies' bad-faith tactics, which have prevented countless accident victims from getting fair compensation
- Give insurers information about your accident-related losses
- Oversee every detail of the claims process for you
Insurance claims are necessary, but they can be a headache. Claims can be even more challenging when you are dealing with physical and psychological injury. Allow an attorney to handle your claim as you continue to put your health first.
Calculate How Much Each Liable Party Owes You
Each party who is at fault for your accident may owe you a specific amount of compensation. Your attorney will consider the cost of your damages, the share of fault each party has, and other relevant factors to determine how much money each liable party owes you.
Seek a Settlement from Every Liable Party
Your lawyer will deal with liable parties' insurance companies and attorneys, as necessary. Trust your legal team to:
- Organize all evidence of negligence, documentation of your losses, and other relevant case materials in advance of settlement talks
- Present their settlement demands to each party that owes you compensation
- Fight tirelessly for the money you deserve from each liable party
Insurance companies and civil defense lawyers represent their own interests. These parties may not volunteer the amount of money you deserve. It's your lawyer's duty to pursue full and fair compensation for you.
Represent You in All Necessary Lawsuits (and Trials)
Suing may be a viable strategy, and you may even choose to sue multiple people due to your car accident. Experienced lawyers have handled many car accident lawsuits, and your attorney will:
- Inform you whether filing a lawsuit is an option
- Explain the potential benefits and drawbacks of suing
- Draft and file any lawsuits before the statutes of limitations expire
- Lead negotiations after filing a lawsuit
- Represent you at trial if trial becomes the path for your case
Insurance is a complex field. The legal system is arguably even more complicated. Whether you pursue compensation through one or more insurance claims or choose to sue, a lawyer will make the process painless for you.
Damages You Should Receive Fair Compensation for After the Car Accident
A single car accident can cause severe damages. When multiple vehicles are involved in a collision, victims are at a heightened risk of serious injuries and related damages.
Your lawyer will fight for compensation covering all of your damages, which may include:
Healthcare Bills
Car accident victims (especially those involved in multiple collisions) often need:
- Emergency transport and medical care
- Hospital services (and sometimes overnight care)
- Medications
- Medical imaging
- Specialist appointments
- Rehabilitation
The unique details of your injuries and treatment needs, as well as the duration of your symptoms, will be relevant to the cost of your medical care.
Pain and Suffering
Auto accidents can cause anxiety, physical pain, personality changes, post-traumatic stress disorder, and many other types of pain and suffering. Your lawyer will document and calculate the cost of your pain and suffering.
Lost Earnings and Other Forms of Professional Harm
If you lose income or suffer other professional harm because of accident-related injuries or trauma, your attorney will include those professional damages in their case valuation.
Repairs for Your Car (and Any Other Property Costs)
Vehicle repairs (or the cost of replacing a totaled vehicle) are typically part of claims and lawsuits related to car accidents.
There's No Doubt That You Can Afford a Car Accident Attorney
The typical car accident attorney offers their services for a contingency fee. Rather than you having to pay out of your pocket for legal services, you will:
- Be able to hire a lawyer without paying a dime upfront
- Have a law firm's total financial support (the firm will pay the entire upfront cost of completing your case)
- Only have to agree that your lawyer will receive a percentage of any compensation they obtain for you (and you will know what that percentage is)
You deserve legal help, and you will not have to stress about the cost of that help.
Identify Your Car Accident Lawyer and Hire Them Today
There may not be much time to file an insurance claim or lawsuit, or take other steps related to your case. Find your car accident attorney as soon as possible so they can move forth with your fight for justice (a fair financial recovery). Don't delay, call a personal injury attorney today.
